WHAT HAPPENED ON 23. FEBRUARY
Want to find out what all happened on 23. February

Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. (23. February 303)

Byzantine Emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. (23. February 532)

Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type. (23. February 1455)

Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile. (23. February 1554)

Richard Palmer is identified at York Castle, by his former schoolteacher, as the outlaw Dick Turpin. (23. February 1739)

American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army. (23. February 1778)

Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed. (23. February 1820)

Alexander Ypsilantis starts the Greek War of Independence in Iași, Wallachia (now part of Romania). (23. February 1821)

The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas. (23. February 1836)

Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. (23. February 1847)

The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared. (23. February 1854)

President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland. (23. February 1861)

In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union. (23. February 1870)

Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law. (23. February 1883)

Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam. (23. February 1885)

Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall. (23. February 1886)

The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000. (23. February 1887)

The Tootsie Roll is invented. (23. February 1896)

Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus. (23. February 1898)

In South Africa, Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill. (23. February 1900)